Tim’s Korean BBQ

‍

Chef Tim Kispert smiles and welcomes me into the NoCo Community Kitchen, an incubator kitchen operated by the Prescott Farmers Market to promote and support small-scale entrepreneurs. It’s Friday morning and Chef Tim is prepping for the Saturday market.

Tim has a history of running restaurants in Palm Desert and in Prescott (Bill’s Pizza, Bill’s Grill, Red, White and Brew, and The Eatery at Yavapai College). Last year he worked the Chef in Action table at the market and, drawn by its vibrancy and personal interactions, fell in love with it. Then he stepped into his own business with Tim’s Korean BBQ.

As he preps for Saturday he explains his strategy: “I have a business model that is easy to handle, with minimal waste, and delicious. The menu is super-streamlined, featuring Kimchi Fried Rice with Beef Bulgogi (and locally sourced meat from L Bell Ranch) and Kimchi Grilled Cheese Sandwich,” with bread from the Farmers Market Little Portugal bakers.

Tim was born in Seoul, South Korea in 1970, and orphaned at six months. He considers himself lucky and blessed to have been adopted into a loving German-American family. He grew up on a five-acre hobby farm in Minnesota with two sisters. He knew nothing about Korean culture and rejected being different until his thirties.

At that point Tim was uncomfortable, unhappy and falling into addiction. Then he met Bill Tracy, the former owner of the Dinner Bell, Bill’s Pizza and Bill’s Grill. Through Alcoholics Anonymous he applied for a job at Bill’s Grill, and, Tim says “Bill changed my life.” That’s how Bill was. He hired Tim on the spot, helped get his teeth fixed, then gave him an open ended round-trip flight to Seoul with ten days off. Bill said, “Go get lost.” That was Bill, always reaching out with a deep belief in the basic goodness of everyone. He was a good friend of mine, too.

When Bill sold his Prescott restaurants and moved to Palm Springs to open Bill’s Pizza there, Tim followed. During this time Tim met Sarah (Yukyung Kim), also from Korea. He asked if she wanted to “eat through L.A.,” Tim says: “We ate high and we ate low, we ate everything.” He proposed with this offer, “If you want to spend the rest of our life with me, you’ll never go hungry.” She said, “That’s a pretty good deal.”

Bill Tracy died tragically in 2019 after falling from a restaurant roof. Now he lives in pizza heaven. Tim and Sarah returned to Prescott to work at Bill’s Grill and then at Red, White and Brew.

Now Tim and Sarah are Farmers Market micro-entrepreneurs, and Tim is loving it. He says “I just turned 55 and discovered that I have so much to learn. I’m getting a little older, and enough wisdom to be dangerous. That internal voice saying ‘more, more’ is quiet. Now I’m just enjoying the process.” Tim smiles; I eat Tim’s kimchi fried rice. We’re both happy.

Tim’s wisdom: “Life is a kitchen. Everything makes sense in a kitchen. You’re dealt a lot of disasters and come through them. I don’t get upset or take it seriously. Life is good. I love my wife, I love my life.” You can taste it in Tim’s Kimchi Fried Rice with Bulgogi Beef. Delicious. It’s my go-to-market lunch.

‍

What is Kimchi Fried Rice?

Organic jasmine rice, a long-grain, fragrant rice, is the base. It’s precooked and chilled before being stir-fried into this delicious dish.

Bulgogi is made from tender beef sirloin, sliced thinly, and then marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, scallions, garlic, ginger and pureed Asian pears. (Tim offers an allergen-free version as welle.) Then it’s roasted and folded into the rice during the stir-fry, along with . . .

Kimchi, the Korean national dish. Kimchi is made from lacto-fermented vegetables, usually Napa cabbage, with plenty of garlic, ginger and chili powder. Kimchi is an excellent source of probiotics, vitamins and minerals. In Korea it’s eaten with every meal as a side dish or added to soup, stir-fry and, of course, folded into fried rice.

Kimchi Fried Rice is topped with a sunnyside-up egg for added umami, flavor and richness. Then all that is garnished with Tim’s own recipe, Gochujang Yum Yum Sauce, a sweet, savory and spicy fermented chili sauce. You won’t know how it tastes till you try it.

Any Saturday morning at the Prescott Farmers Market, look for Tim’s Korean BBQ tent, meet Tim and Sarah, and enjoy!